England wicketkeeper Matt Prior said that his team’s dressing room will be a better place without controversial batsman Kevin Pietersen, who was sacked following England’s 5-0 Ashes whitewash in Australia.

Pietersen, who scored 8,181 runs in 104 Tests and 4,440 runs in 136 ODIs, was released from his England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) contract earlier this month.

According to Stuff.co.nz, Prior, who was the vice-captain during the Ashes tour, said that Pietersen’s ability should have made him ”the best England cricketer to ever walk this planet” and the decision to dispense with him would not have been taken lightly, although he admitted that the dressing room would be a better place without him in it.

Prior further said that the ECB wants to rediscover the value of playing cricket for England and the honour and the pride a player needs to show as an England cricketer, adding that the board only wants players in the dressing room who are going to be passionate about England winning and performing.

England will begin their limited-overs tour of the Caribbean when they meet West Indies in the opening game of the three-match series of One-Day Internationals (ODIs) in Antigua on Friday, the report added.

First Published on March 1, 2014, 12:32 amLast updated on July 27, 2014, 10:00 pm